Deadline Date: Friday 12 December 2025
Requirement: SATCOM Engineering Support Services
Location: Norfolk, United States
Full Time On-Site: Yes
Time On-Site: 100%
Not to Exceed: 2026 BASE : 138,690 EUR
2027 Option : 139,275 EUR
2028 Option: 140,085 EUR
Period of Performance: 2026 Base: 02 February 2026
Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET
Project Specifics:
Scope:
This Statement of Work (SOW) defines the provision of specialized SATCOM Engineering Support Services to assist NATO entities in the definition, assessment, and evolution of future SATCOM capabilities.
The Contractor shall provide expert engineering services to support the strategic planning, design, and definition of NATO SATCOM systems, ensuring alignment with operational requirements, interoperability standards, and emerging technologies within the Alliance's communication and space domains.
All work shall be performed as service-based deliverables, with measurable outputs and documented technical artefacts produced under NCIA's supervision and in close coordination with Allied Command Transformation (ACT), ACO, and other NATO stakeholders.
Objectives:
The objective of this engagement is to provide engineering and analytical support to ongoing NATO activities related to the definition, harmonization, and modernization of SATCOM capabilities, including:
* Assessment of current and future SATCOM architectures;
* Identification of capability gaps and dependencies;
* Development of engineering baselines and system-level requirements;
* Analysis of interoperability with NATO, national, and commercial SATCOM assets;
* Technical input to strategic planning, feasibility studies, and decision-making documents.
Tasks and Activities:
The Contractor shall perform, but not be limited to, the following tasks:
Engineering Analysis and Studies
* Conduct technical assessments of SATCOM networks, terminals, and anchoring systems across NATO strategic, operational, and tactical domains;
* Support system architecture definition, including integration of MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM resources;
* Perform trade-off and feasibility analyses addressing performance, resilience, spectrum efficiency, and cost-benefit aspects;
* Contribute to the development of future-oriented SATCOM system concepts, including Low Earth Orbit (LEO) integration, software-defined payloads, and multi-orbit architectures;
* Create Analysis of Alternative documents for different options considered.
Requirements and Interface Definition:
* Develop and maintain system-level functional and technical requirements for future SATCOM systems and related ground infrastructure;
* Support interoperability and standardization activities (e.g., STANAGs, NATO interoperability profiles, SATCOM reference architectures);
* Provide interface control documentation (ICD) and configuration baselines for engineering reference.
Capability and Architecture Modelling:
* Contribute to modelling and simulation of SATCOM service delivery architectures and integration with existing Networks;
* Assess the impact of emerging technologies such as AI-driven resource management, optical links, and protected waveforms;
* Provide recommendations for technology insertion and obsolescence mitigation.
Stakeholder Coordination and Reporting:
* Liaise with ACT, ACO, and NCIA technical authorities, providing engineering inputs and consolidated documentation;
* Prepare technical briefings, reports, and data packages supporting NATO capability planning;
* Participate in workshops, technical meetings, and industry engagement events as required.
Practical Arrangements:
Place of Performance: Work will be conducted primarily on-site in ACT Norfolk USA in designated as Class I and II Security Area.
Travel Requirement: Travel may be required to other Purchasers' locations on exceptional basis. Travel arrangements will be the responsibility of the contractor and the expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with Article 5.5 of AAS Framework Contract and within the limits of the NCIA Travel Directive.
Hours of Operation: The Contractor is expected to follow the Purchaser's working hours — Monday to Thursday from 08h30 until 17h30 and Friday from 08h30 until 15h30 (USA Eastern time zone).
Reporting: The Contractor shall produce Monthly Service Performance Report completion reports (format: e-mail update), which include details of activities performed, the list of the KPI completion and penalties if it is applicable.
Safety and Compliance and other arrangements:
* Follow all safety protocols to prevent accidents and injuries.
* Ensure compliance with agency, industry standards and regulations.
* The Contractor shall manage and be responsible for all activities mentioned in the Section 2.
* Install and operate the equipment following the manufacturer's requirements.
* Minimize the impact to the service during the execution of the work.
* Bring immediately to the attention of the Purchaser Point of Contact on-site any issues preventing the execution of the work.
* The Contractor shall: Strive to lower the rotation of Contractor's personnel and maintain the same staff Contractor working under this SoW.
* The Purchaser will support the Contractor with access to the IT systems as required.
Security Clearance:
It is mandatory for the Contractor to be in possession of a valid NATO Secret security clearance for the duration Period of Performance. Only a valid NATO security clearance is acceptable- no equivalents will be accepted.
Security requirements from NS Projects are in compliance with Security Requirements for NATO Secret (NS) Projects (Classified Projects).
Services delivery should be compliant with Project Security Instructions (PSI).
Requirements:
Service Delivery Requirements:
One resource is required to deliver the services under this SOW, with the below requirements:
The Contractor shall fulfil the following requirements:
* Security Clearance: The Contractor shall possess valid NATO SECRET Personal Security Clearances for the duration of the Contract performance.
* Language Proficiency: English: C1
Qualifications:
* Education: University Degree in Telecommunications, Electronics, or a related field, with at least two years of post-related experience; or Higher Vocational Training with a minimum of five years of post-related experience.
* SATCOM Expertise: Minimum of three years of practical experience in SATCOM systems, including UHF, SHF, HF and EHF systems.
* Technical Expertise: Familiarity with modern military communication networks, including interfaces, protocols, and experience with SATCOM Operations.
* Deep knowledge of SATCOM architecture principles, including link budget analysis, modulation schemes, error correction coding, satellite network topologies
* Strong understanding of RF engineering, antenna systems, propagation modelling in SATCOM bands, cybersecurity architecture for SATCOM, including encryption
* Familiarity with SATCOM related standards, such as DVB-S2, DVB-S2X, MIL-STD-188, experience in Software Defined Networking (SDN) in SATCOM
* Customer Service and Incident Management: Familiarity in service management (incident, problem management, etc.) and a customer-focused approach in a control centre environment.
* NATO Environment: prior experience working in a NATO or multinational military setting, with a solid understanding of NATO operational standards and protocols.